For the Time Being
by TheMorningPaper
Summary: After Fang poisons Robin, Raven saves his life and spends the night watching over his recovery while Robin begins experiencing some new feelings for her. Oneshot. Some lemon.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans, but I think that's pretty obvious.

* * *

Robin woke up in spirals. He couldn't even sit straight up in bed; his swaying mind wouldn't allow it.

"Robin, you have awakened!" He could hear Starfire's voice to one side of him. "How are you feeling?" He gave a small moan in response. He was still trying so hard to steady his dizziness that he couldn't focus on forming words. Starfire placed her hand on the thick of his upper arm. "I shall alert the others to your current condition."

As his head slowly started to settle, he tried to remember what had happened. They had been chasing down Fang again for a heist he'd committed on the farther side of town, probably stealing something for Kitten. He might have gotten hit, but Robin didn't remember anything that would've clearly knocked him out – maybe another chemical of some sort that had frozen his muscles? But even the last time that had happened he was still conscious through it all. He just remembered feeling very sick before blacking out.

Starfire returned shortly with the others in tow, all with concerned looks on their faces.

"Dude you're alive!" He didn't have to open his eyes, he could practically hear Beast Boy's toothy grin.

"Of course he's alive. You think we'd be sitting outside this whole time if he was dying?" Raven's irked retort came right on cue. It made him want to laugh how well he knew his friends.

But it wasn't laughter that was coming up. Before his mind could process what to do, he felt bile rising up through his throat. A bucket was placed in front of him just in time as he emptied his stomach into the container. He could hear BB and Cyborg's "ewws" and high-pitched "eep" from Star while a small hand rubbed up and down his back as he panted into the bucket. He wanted to die. Both from dizziness and embarrassment.

"He is not well, we must get him more medicine!" Starfire exclaimed.

"No Star it's fine; this is good." Raven stated simply beside him. Her hand slowed to a stop against his back.

"Good? I don't understand. He is clearly in pain…"

"It just means that his body is doing what it should. It's trying to expel any leftover toxins from his body." Cyborg explained. "The best way to help him is just to let his body do its job."

Robin couldn't take much more of them taking about him like he couldn't hear them. If he had any color left in his face, he was sure it was bright red.

"What happened to me?" he managed to ask. At least the vomiting had cleared up a bit of his nausea.

"The dude must like to steal more than just jewelry 'cause he managed to get his legs on some pretty nasty spider venom," Beast Boy said, pretending that his fingers were spider legs crawling up the bed rail. "He nicked your shoulder and some of it got into your blood stream. Wouldn't surprise me if some of it was mixed with snake venom."

Now he started to remember. The venom must have been particularly strong since he passed out within a matter of minutes. "Did you get him?"

"Well…no," Cyborg rubbed the back of his head. "We all rushed over to you once you collapsed. We'll get him though."

"We have to. With that kind of venom in his possession, it's only a matter of time before he seriously hurts someone else. He's acting as more than just a thief now."

The others shifted silently in their places. This certainly wasn't the first time that Robin was putting capturing the villain before his own health.

"WE will take care of Fang. You are in no condition to do anything right now." Raven pulled the bucket away and took it into the lab's bathroom to rinse it out. Robin knew that he was forced to accept her words. He couldn't even stand up or think straight let alone track someone down.

"Damn I hate this guy," He laid his head back against the bed's headboard. "This is the second time I've got to leave him to you guys because he managed to one-up me." He pulled down the rip in his uniform to look at the tiny horizontal cut Fang had swiped just below his left clavicle. The area was throbbing and the skin around it was red and irritated, but otherwise it didn't look that deadly.

"Robin you must rest," Starfire claimed, walking up to him and resting her palm on his forearm. "Had it not been for Raven we might not have been able to get the venom out in time."

He turned his head to try and look at Raven who was still messing around with supplies in the bathroom. "What do you mean?"

Cyborg explained, "We couldn't get you back to the tower in time since it was spreading so fast, so Raven tried to pull the venom out with her powers, but it wasn't really working, so she had to suck the rest of it out."

"She…sucked it out?"

"Yeah man, the rest of us didn't know how to do it and you were going pretty fast."

Raven came out of the bathroom nonchalantly like she hadn't heard or didn't care, but a small blush brightened up her cheeks as she placed the cleaned bucket next to his bedside. He couldn't take his eyes off her. "Thanks Raven." He said with a certain amount of astonishment in his voice. She finally made eye contact with him and gave a small nod of acceptance.

Cyborg looked at the crime scanner in his arm. "If you're feeling better maybe the rest of us should start hunting down Fang again. He couldn't have gotten too far by this point."

Robin closed his eyes. He was starting to get nauseous again. "Good idea. Just be careful. Don't get too close to him."

"Right."

"Someone should stay here and keep an eye on you," Raven interjected, "just because you're awake doesn't mean you're completely healed yet."

"Yes I will stay." Starfire clasped her hands together.

"Why don't the both of you stay and look after Robin and BB and I can nab Fang," said Cyborg. "If something happens Robin might need both of you."

As much as he hated to admit it, Robin knew he shouldn't be left alone. And Cyborg was right, if he started to take a turn for the worse, he'd rather have someone besides just Starfire there to keep him alive, plus Raven clearly knew what she was doing. He moaned his approval of the plan, not in the mood to speak again.

Cyborg and Beast Boy left to prepare for their mission and Raven went with them to see if she could find them a lead on exactly where Fang was, while Starfire floated next to the bed.

"Do not worry Robin. We will make sure that you are fully healed in no time."

"Thanks Star, I know you will."

* * *

About a half hour later, while Starfire was talking about the last time Silkie was sick, Raven walked back into the med lab with her hands full.

"I hope it's alright I got some clean clothes from your room for you to change into and some water to keep you hydrated."

"That's great Raven, thank you."

She placed everything on the bedside table and pressed her palm to his forehead. Hot, but not fever-hot. She made a peace sign with her hand. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Two."

"Are you still dizzy?"

"Sort of. It comes and goes."

She looked contented. "You seem alright but we'll just have to continue monitoring your symptoms. If you feel faint again let us know."

"Right."

"And keep drinking water."

"Right."

She shifted for a second, unsure of what to say next. "We'll uh, leave you to get changed." And she turned and walked out of the room somewhat rushed. He looked at Starfire who stared back at him for a few seconds before gasping "Oh! Excuse me" and floated out behind Raven in a blush.

Slowly he pulled off his uniform and slipped on the loose, comfortable clothes Raven had picked out for him: large black sweatpants and a light-weight, white t-shirt. _How very Raven of her,_ he thought, but then felt his heart speed up at the image of her sucking the poison from his chest. It wasn't a big deal really – she was just doing what she had to do – but he couldn't stop himself from getting worked up over the image of her lips against his skin. There was a knock on the door.

"Robin, are you alright? The heart monitor has quickened." Starfire's muffled voice came from outside.

"Yeah, fine Star. You guys can come in."

As he got settled back in bed, the girls entered with some more supplies: washcloths, some light snacks, a deck of cards, and a couple magazines. "While you were changing, we decided that we'll watch over you in shifts. Starfire will be with you for the rest of the day and I'll come and sit with you through the night."

"Alright, that sounds fine to me."

"Raven, perhaps it would be beneficial for you to acquire 'the nap' so that you are plenty rested for your shift."

"I'm not going to argue with that logic." She smirked and turned her attention to Robin. "I'll see you tonight."

"Don't be late." He tried to retort playfully, but the strained tone of his voice made it sound more like a command.

As Raven left, Starfire began by trying to make the room look as cheerful as possible. She opened up the curtains to let the fading light in and cracked some of the windows, which helped with his nausea. She tried to feed him some of the snacks she'd gotten from the kitchen, but he told her he couldn't stand to eat and instead drank the water they had brought him. She tried desperately to raise his spirits by getting him to play cards with her, and even though Starfire was usually pretty easy to beat at most card games, Robin wasn't in the mood for strategy games for once in his life. He was sweaty and shaky and just wanted his body to get over the episode already. Every now and then when his senses steadied out he tried to walk around the room a bit to stretch and feel a little better, but Starfire always coaxed him back into bed where he should've been. She kept him from boredom by telling him stories, some of which were Tamaranian in origin and very hard for him to understand, but it made the time go by faster. He finally decided to ask her about what happened while he was unconscious.

"Oh, we were all very frightened. One moment you seemed normal and then you were suddenly on the ground. I tried to awaken you, but you just kept falling asleep." Her eyes grew blurry at the memory. "When the others came over Cyborg found out about the poison inside you and Raven started to try and pull out of you. It was very gruesome; Beast Boy fainted."

"I'm sorry to worry you. I should have been more careful."

"There is no way you could have known Robin. None of us did. I am just sorry that I could not have done more to help save you."

He smiled at her. "You're doing it right now."

Starfire's emerald eyes brightened as she leaned in and placed her lips gently on his. As he opened his mouth a little to greet her, she began to kiss him harder, sucking a bit on his lower lip. They had kissed before and everyone knew about it, but they didn't go around flaunting their flirtatious relationship. It was usually in private moments like this that the two were able to get physical, but Robin found himself not being able to go further. His head started to spin again and his limbs felt weak. Either he was getting sick again or it was one hell of a kiss. He moved away from Starfire in discontent and poked at his wound as it began to throb.

"Oh yes, Raven brought you a cream for that!" She remembered enthusiastically. She searched through the mix of things they had brought in and pulled out a disinfectant ointment. She squeezed some into her palm and began dabbing it against the wound, which then began to burn against his skin. Robin tried not to show the pain on his face, but every so often his eyebrows would flinch and his teeth would clench together from the severe stinging. Starfire didn't seem to notice, however, and appeared quite satisfied with her work.

* * *

It was a few more hours before Raven came in for her shift at 11p.m. She looked tired, like she had just woken up from a nap, but not necessarily cranky.

"How's the patient?" She asked.

"Not so nauseous anymore."

"Oh yes, he has been progressing quite well. We played many games and I told him many stories to rise his spirits and make him feel better." Starfire smiled. _Among other things_ Robin thought, remembering their kiss.

"Well I can take it from here Star."

"Alright," she turned to Robin "I wish you a very peaceful night's sleep Robin in hopes that you feel even better in the morning."

"Thank you Starfire." He watched her leave. "You know Raven, if you want to get more sleep, I think I'll be alright on my own. Nothing drastic has happened so far."

"Thank you, but no. I'd like to keep an eye on you; besides, it wouldn't be fair to make Starfire sit here for hours just for me to ditch you as soon as my shift started.

"I don't think she minded." He chuckled.

"I don't mind either."

He always appreciated her words because he knew that she always meant them. "I don't know how to thank you enough Raven – for everything you've done for me today."

"There's no need. We're teammates Robin – I'd do anything to keep you safe."

"I know but still… I would've died if you hadn't been there. I want to make it up to you."

"Then just think of it as we're even now – for everything you've done for me."

He didn't know what else to say. They had been through so much together, from her reaching out to him during his hallucinations from Slade's dust – to his going through Hell to save her from Trigon, his friendship with her was stronger than any he had with any of his other teammates, even Starfire. He did share many things with Starfire, but there were some things he was afraid she couldn't or wouldn't understand, so he always turned to Raven, knowing somehow that she would.

Raven came up to his bedside and felt his forehead. "You're burning up and you're still shaking a little." she looked unhappy.

"Yeah I have the cold-sweats, but it'll pass."

"Preferably sooner rather than later." She grabbed a heating pad from beneath the counter and placed it underneath his spine to help him stop shaking. Then she propped him up and inspected his cut, reaching for the ointment.

"It looks a little more bruised around the actual cut; is that okay?" he asked.

Her eyes widened a little as she looked at the wound and another small blush came to her cheeks like before. "Um, yeah that's nothing to worry about."

"Are you sure?" He could feel a strangeness coming from her.

"I'm sure … it's not because of the venom or infection or anything." She told him, and he noted the small stutter still remaining in her voice. Out of the corner of his eye he watched her slowly and carefully brush the ointment over his skin without digging it into the wound and then he suddenly realized that the bruising around the cut wasn't due to infection, but was a mark from Raven's sucking. It was more of a hickey than anything else. No wonder she didn't want to tell him. He observed it a little more closely. He'd never actually received a hickey before. Now he couldn't stop looking at it.

"Did you get any of the venom in you?" he asked. It had suddenly occurred to him how much danger she actually put herself in.

"No, I made sure to spit it out. If any of it had gotten into my system, it would've kicked in by now." She said as she placed a bandage over the wound.

"Oh, good." He started to feel kind of sick again. His skin started to feel clammy even though his body was practically on fire. He felt the shakes coming back up through his spine again. He had the urge to curl up into a ball, but Raven took quick notice and had him turn onto his side to try and ease the pain. Then she pulled down the covers a bit and lifted the back of his shirt to rub the heating pad up and down his bare skin along his spine.

"Just try to relax."

"mmmh" he groaned into the mattress. He could feel her sit down on the side of the bed behind him. When the heating pad cooled down, Raven grabbed a warm wet washcloth from the bathroom and gently dabbed the sweat from his back and around his neck. She continued to rub his back with her fingers, making circles and zigzags up and down his bare skin. Sometimes she would begin to slow as if she were going to stop, but Robin kept encouraging her to continue for just a little while longer. When his shakiness went down a bit, she moved her fingers upwards to massage the back of his neck.

This was all he wanted. He didn't have the strength or the mind for talking – just to rest in quiet – and there was something about Raven's touch he loved. It electrified him. Perhaps their bond had something to do with it, but it made his hair stand up and goosebumps rise along his arms, and that's what made him crave more of it. It was a very light touch, as if she were handling a fragile piece of glass, yet had the soothing effects of a more forceful rub. Her fingers moved into his hair and gently ran over his scalp. _She could do this for a living,_ he thought.

There was no fear in him at that moment, just Raven's fingers gliding against his skin, calming him. He closed his eyes as if it would help him feel it better and buried his face deeper into the mattress. Every now and then she'd hum – not a song – but just a deep hum from the bottom of her throat that made him want to melt into the sheets. He could feel his body begin to stir below his waistline as an erection started to harden beneath his sweatpants. Thank God he was turned away from her so she wouldn't be able to see it, but at the same time he desperately wanted her to keep going. He wanted her to make him harder, perhaps press her body up against his, maybe even let her fingers stroke him below his hemline.

 _What am I doing?_ He chided. This kind of yearning was new for him. Of course, he'd felt this way for Starfire before, but this was the first time he fantasized about Raven. Maybe it was because she was so good at taking care of him, since she turned out to be a lot gentler than Starfire, but perhaps it was something more. There was no doubt in his mind that he did love Raven. Deeply. He'd die for her just like she'd die for him, but until now he'd rarely had erotic feelings for her. Maybe his love for her was seeping into new territories as they continued to grow closer – as they understood each other more and more. Sometimes he thought about her for extended periods of time – worrying about her – hoping that she was okay and as happy as her powers would allow her to be.

His heart rate started to speed up rapidly on the monitor, but he couldn't let her stop. Something inside of him just needed her to keep going.

"Please just ignore the monitor Rae," he groaned into the mattress as her fingers paused against his back "please don't stop."

"You're sure you're okay?"

"I'm good. I'm not even nauseous or shaky. I just need you to keep going."

"Alright, but try to calm down."

 _Easier said than done,_ he thought, although eventually as the blood began to run from his brain to a more southern region, he grew more and more tired. And even though he now desired to stay awake, his already weakened condition made it hard for him to keep his eyes open. The heart monitor beeping slowed to a normal pace and he felt himself drift off beneath the ministrations of Raven's fingertips.

* * *

 _Raven lays stomach-down on the bed in front of him. Her eyes are closed and her breathing is regular as though she's asleep. Robin unclicks her cape from her uniform and tossed into the corner of the room. He begins to slowly unzip the back of her bodysuit while she remains unmoving. He pulls the fabric down to her waist, exposing her bare back and he places his palms on her shoulders, rubbing his thumbs in circular motions. He sees her smile. He spreads his fingers out and grazes them down the length of her back, pressing lightly. As he moves down to her lower waist, her back arches and her butt rises to meet his hips. He glides the backs of his fingernails up the lengths of her sides, his body moving closer to hers as he moves upwards, and brings them around to cup her breasts. Raven leans on one arm for support as the other arm reaches back and begins to grasp for the brim of his sweatpants. Her fingers tiptoe below the hemline and lock around his obvious erection. For a second he thinks he sees her lick her lips. Her palm pumps up and down his shaft, slowly working her way down to his testicles, palming them just tight enough as her nails run through his pubic hair. His breathing quickens. He needs her._

 _His hands grab onto her hips and he pulls the rest of her uniform down, leaving her completely naked. She moves both arms back in front of her for balance in what's to come next. With one hand on her back and the other holding his erection, he runs the tip of his penis up and down her vaginal lips, teasing her. He slides the length of his shaft along her pussy. He doesn't need to enter her to tell how wet she is for him, however he grabs her behind with both hands and enters her slowly as she moans. He grinds into her repeatedly, pumping himself in and out of her wetness. He can't help himself; he begins to grunt furiously. Raven pushes herself back to meet him, begging him to go deeper. Robin gains speed and he feels his testicles tighten. Their wet skin smacks against each other as Raven begins to shake around him. Her eyes close shut and she grabs the headboard for dear life. A few more lust-fueled pumps and he cums violently inside of her and both cry out in ecstasy as he buries himself in her as deep as he can._

 _He rests his forehead against the small of her back as he recovers, reveling in the feeling of her still throbbing around him. She pants and whimpers as she lets go of the headboard and settles back down on the bed, her behind still raised, attached to his groin. He leans down and kisses her neck before pulling out of her. She wraps her arm around him and pulls him down to lay beside her. He folds his arms around her and pulls her naked body flush against his own. Their bodies meld together._

* * *

When Robin woke up, Raven was sitting in the corner reading a book next to a small light. She reached for a cup of tea on the table and saw that he was awake.

"How are you feeling?" She whispered.

"Better, much better." He could still feel the remaining erection caused by his dream pressing against his pants, but it was covered by the bedsheets. He could tell it must have been very early in the morning. Raven looked tired as she drank the tea she must have made herself while he was sleeping. "How long was I asleep?"

"A little over five hours, you didn't move a muscle the entire time. At one point I started to get worried and had to check your vitals, but I guess you were just pretty tired." She smirked. Robin stretched his muscles in bed, trying to convince his erection to go away. "Cyborg and Beast Boy returned while you were sleeping," she continued, "Fang's been arrested and no one else got hurt."

"That's great news." He perked up. "But it must have been very boring for you to sit here while I slept."

"Not really, I got pretty far in my book." She rose to take his temperature which turned out to be normal. He didn't feel nauseas anymore and he could tell he wasn't going to again. His stomach growled. "Yeah you haven't eaten in a while have you?" she noted, "Let me fix you some breakfast and you can see the others."

Once she left, Robin unhooked the heart monitor cups from his body and went immediately to the bathroom. He slowly but surely coaxed down his erection. He'd never had a dream in this much sexual detail before, and never about Raven. What did this mean? He knew it was most likely caused by his attraction to Raven right before he fell asleep, but a part of him wanted the dream to keep going. He'd never had such an erotically raw dream about Starfire, let alone Raven. Maybe it really was something from the venom making his hormones funky. His mind told him to not overthink it – to just let things continue as they normally did and if his feelings really started to change – then that was that, but his heart started pounding again every time a part of the dream came back to him.

Not too long after, as he left the bathroom, Raven came back with Cyborg walking behind her carrying a tray with food on it. She had a sour look on her face.

"Raven's food was about to poison you all over again, so I made you breakfast." Cyborg handed him the tray: stacks of peanut butter toast with sausage, cut cup strawberries, and orange juice.

"Thanks." He immediately began eating. With a mouth full of peanut butter, he smiled at Raven whose annoyed appearance began to fade as she saw how healthy he now seemed. The sun began to rise quickly outside the med-lab window, casting a lightness on the three of them. "So Raven says you guys caught Fang alright?"

"Yeah dude, we told you we'd get him." Cyborg laughed watching Robin stuff his face. "When you're done eating I've got seconds in the kitchen." He turned to leave, whistling on his way out.

Robin washed his food down with juice. "Raven you have no idea how thankful I am for you." He said seriously and handed a strawberry out to her. She leaned in closer to him and he froze as she gave him a very light, chaste kiss on the cheek – as much affection as her powers would let her express – took the strawberry and popped it in her mouth.

"I'm thankful for you too Robin." She said and turned to walk out of the room. He knew that whatever _this_ was between them, it wasn't over.


	2. Sequel Announcement

For my followers, I've written a sequel/companion piece to this story called "How Much More." If you'd like to read it, you can find it through my profile page.

And thanks for reading! I probably wouldn't have continued on with this story if it wasn't for all the great feedback, so thank you :)

\- TheMorningPaper


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